The United States government buried Ira Hayes at Arlington National Cemetery on February 2, 1955.

Vice President Richard Nixon spoke at the service.

The Marine Corps provided full military honors.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the military, by officials, by family members who had traveled from Arizona to be there.

It was a state occasion, fitting for someone whose image had become so central to the national self-image during the war.

Arlington National Cemetery, where Hayes was buried, is the most honored burial ground in the United States — the resting place of presidents, generals, Supreme Court justices, and hundreds of thousands of American service members.

Hayes was buried there because he was a decorated Marine, a veteran of one of the most famous battles of World War II.